Chapter 13
“So, who are you?”
She spoke without making the slightest effort to hide her displeasure with me.
His fiancée... Theo's fiancée...
“I'm my master's maid.”
If I said that, she'd obviously get angry.
That was fine. I was saying it to make her angry.
“A maid?”
“Yes.”
Her expression began to twist.
“How dare a mere maid sit down and...!”
“Enough!”
One of the people attending Ellis started to say something to me, but she stopped him by raising the fan in her hand.
“Maid, what were you just trying to do to Theo?”
“As you can see, I was making sure my master was comfortable...”
“No, you were just leaning over sleeping Theo's face.”
Had I? I'd only been trying to get a closer look.
“I was just checking because he seemed uncomfortable...”
“By leaning in that close?”
“It's a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding...”
Apparently, she didn't believe my answer.
Well, from a fiancée's point of view, it was a situation worth getting angry over.
That had nothing to do with me.
If I didn't get her out of here soon, Theo would wake up.
“Well, fine. I'll take Theo with me now.”
What? No.
If Theo woke up, I needed to hypnotize him immediately and make him think he'd done what happened earlier that day.
Otherwise, he'd suspect me.
But what should I do? She was his fiancée, so she had every right to...
“Mm... What?”
Just then, Theo woke up.
Everyone's eyes turned to Theo. After staring blankly up at the sky from my lap for a moment, he seemed to notice something was wrong, sat up, and looked at me.
His gaze was intense. He was probably about to question me about what had happened earlier that day.
This is bad...
“You! What did you...?”
“Theo!”
Fortunately, before he could question me, Ellis interrupted him. Theo turned to her with a puzzled expression.
“Ellis? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. And why are you doing that with that maid?”
Ellis asked as if she were interrogating a boyfriend who'd cheated on her. Theo seemed to think for a moment, then
suddenly put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me into his arms?!
“Huh?”
“What's wrong with me doing this with my woman?”
“Theo!!!”
Then, with one arm around me, he deliberately walked right past Ellis, but
I was in no state to care about that.
My face was burning hot.
My heartbeat grew faster and faster.
The warmth of his arm as he held me gently—I couldn't think straight.
What was wrong with me? Why was I acting like this?
He'd only put his arm around my shoulder.
By the time they were all out of sight, I couldn't stand the embarrassment any longer and pushed at the hand around my shoulder—or tried to.
“Th-Theo?”
“Stay still.”
The more I tried to get out of his arms, the more he pulled me close, and
in the end, I entered the mansion still held in his arms. We passed a few servants, but he paid them no mind and led me to his study.
And then,
Slam.
he backed me against one wall, trapping me there, and
“Why was I sleeping there?”
began questioning me.
Of course, I should've hypnotized him right away, but—ugh, this is too much.
“M-Master, please step back for a moment.”
“Don't move.”
What kind of unreasonable demand was that...
How could I not move when he was pressing his body this close?!
Besides, for some reason, Theo smelled...
Why did he smell so good?
On top of that, the sweat running down his neck looked as sweet as honey to me.
“Edel, answer me.”
“Ugh...”
Theo kept questioning me, but one thought had already filled my mind, and his words went in one ear and out the other.
There was only one thing on my mind right now.
I want to lick him...
Lick.
In the end, I couldn't resist. I put my tongue to his neck and licked it.
Salty... But delicious.
“W-What are you...!”
When I licked his neck, Theo yelped and pulled away from me.
“C-Come here.”
“You... what's wrong with your face...?”
What's wrong with my face?
More importantly...
“Don't run away.”
“C-Calm down. I think I made a mistake. I'm sorry.”
“Stay still.”
Theo babbled something or other, but I ignored him and slowly moved toward him.
Not yet. Just a little more. I want to lick him a little more.
“Y-You, what on earth...?”
Why are you looking so displeased? You're the one at fault.
I'd looked forward to seeing you for so long and had finally come to see you, but
you'd forgotten all about me.
Even if I looked different, you should've recognized me.
I recognized you the moment I saw you.
Lick.
“Delicious...”
I'll never forgive you.
“Edel...”
I'll make sure you can't forget me.
“Edel.”
Whatever you're thinking, I will never...
“Edel!”
“...Yes?!”
Theo's shout snapped me back to my senses. At some point, I'd knocked him down and climbed on top of him.
What the hell was I doing?!
Startled, I backed away until my back hit the wall. Theo seemed just as shocked; he sat up, rubbing his face with one hand, but I could see how red it was through his fingers.
Why... was I doing that?
Just now, I definitely...
“Have you calmed down a little?”
“Uh,”
“Uh?”
“Aaaaaah!!”
“Edel?!”
I heard Theo call after me, but I hurriedly sprang up and ran out of the room.
“Who dares make a racket in the hallway...?”
“Aaaaaah!!”
“Running...?”
The head maid seemed to call out to me along the way, but I ignored her and kept running.
I made it out of the mansion and crossed the courtyard...
After that, I used the orb to return to Lazuli.
“Big Sister?!”
I ran over to my younger sibling, who was lying in bed, and hugged them.
“What happened, Big Sister?! What's wrong?”
“Lazuliiii... What am I going to do...?”
“Why? Sniff, sniff. Ah! Big Sis, you're in heat.”
“I'm noooooot...”
No... It couldn't be.
Honestly, I'd realized it a little earlier.
That I was in heat.
I knew my fox heat would continue even after I returned to human form,
but since it had never caused any major problems in all the years I'd been alive, I hadn't paid it much attention.
But... for the first time in my fox life, it had finally become a problem.
“What am I going to do, Lazuli...?”
“What is it? You have to tell me for me to know...”
My younger sibling kept asking me worriedly, but I couldn't say a word to Lazuli.
How could I tell them...? I thought it was just because he was my benefactor, because I was grateful to him...
He was a man, and I used to be a man in my previous life!!
Even when I met other males in the forest, I never felt that way!!
“Aaaaaah!!”
I was seeing Theo as a male.
That's why being in his arms felt so unbelievably good.
That soft, meltingly good feeling whenever my body touched Theo was because of that.
“Is it because you're in heat? It'll be over in about a month.”
“No! That's not why!!”
“Then what is it...?”
Lazuli's voice was full of exasperation, but no matter how much I tried to work up the courage, I couldn't bring myself to say it.
“Aaaah!!...”
“Good grief...”
In the end, Lazuli was the one who gave up,
Pat, pat.
“It's okay.”
Lazuli gently rubbed my back until I calmed down.
* * *
In the study Edel had rushed out of, Theo was just as flustered as she was.
Edel, her face bright red, had pounced on him and licked his neck.
She'd looked just like a beast.
But because of that,
‘I nearly lost it, too.’
Theo had nearly turned into a beast himself.
Was there any man who wouldn't lose his mind if a beauty like that came at him that way?
If anything, he felt he deserved praise for showing superhuman restraint.
But...
‘Why did she run away again with such an embarrassed look on her face?’
If Edel hadn't pulled away just now, she probably would've gotten what she wanted.
Edel was stronger than he'd expected, and the scent coming from her had aroused Theo, too.
But she'd run away with an embarrassed look on her face. Just like last time...
If she'd been a woman sent by Verdia to seduce him, would she really have run away like that?
Besides, Ellis's attitude toward her—Ellis didn't know Edel.
‘Though Kerenis could have kept it a secret from Ellis.’
Various pieces of information jumbled around in his mind, but he couldn't be certain of any of them.
There was only one thing he was sure of.
She wasn't an ordinary commoner.
His memory of talking to her earlier that day had cut off.
And then there was that incredible strength, more than he could imagine coming from such a small girl.
‘What on earth is she... and why does she keep...’
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
For a moment, he thought it might be Edel and waited, but the person who opened the door and entered was the elderly head steward, Claynen, whose white mustache stood out.
“Master. What on earth happened earlier today?”
“Earlier today? What do you mean?”
“Are you pretending you don't know?! I just heard that you beat the leader of Hades and captured them all!”
“I did?”
From Theo's perspective, it was an absurd story.
The Arm Hunter? Wasn't he a criminal famous for wielding aura?
And the leader of an organization called Hades, a dangerous man known as the one who ruled Rebellin's nights.
Theo had caught someone like that?
“Just how soundly did you beat them...? The rest of the gang members all turned themselves in to the guards after their leader did. You should go to the guard station yourself tomorrow.”
“That...”
“And! The valuables they brought in when they surrendered are worth over 50,000 gold. Some of it will be returned to the townspeople, but with a sum like this, the plan you had...”
“What?!!”
Amid his confusion, Theo cried out in shock at the enormous sum of 50,000 gold.
“A mere criminal organization had amassed valuables worth that much? And they handed all of it over?”
“Yes, that's right. They had all kinds of valuables, but among them was a large quantity of ‘Raylight.’ Heh, and they handed it all over.”
“Th-That can't be.”
Raylight was an ore Theo knew, too.
The material every blacksmith wanted, the stuff every warrior wanted equipment made from. A dream ore.
But supply had been nowhere near enough to meet demand, so for a mere criminal organization to have a large amount of it...
And why would they hand all of it over, even if they were surrendering?
“Could it be...?”
“Master?”
“Where is Edel now?”
“Edel, you mean...”
“The maid we hired recently.”
“Oh, shall I call her?”
“Yes. Right now.”
Claynen bowed to Theo and left the room to carry out his order.
Thud.
“Haa... what on earth is going on?”
50,000 gold. Even if he only got about 30,000 of it, no, even 20,000 would be enough.
That would let him clear all of Rebellin's debts.
Then he could sever ties with Verdia and become an older brother who wasn't ashamed before his dead younger sibling.
And all of this was definitely Edel's doing.
He didn't know why she'd done it, but he'd have to talk to her about that now.
“When is she coming...?”
Theo sat in his chair, waiting for Edel with an anxious expression.